


Something to believe in

by weinenforst



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Anal Sex, Blood and Gore, Bottom Will Graham, Breeding, Canon-Typical Violence, Fear of Death, Hannibal Lecter Loves Will Graham, Human/Monster Romance, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Murder Husbands, Porn With Plot, Protective Hannibal Lecter, Sassy Will Graham, Top Hannibal Lecter, Wendigo, Wendigo Sexual Intercourse, Will Graham Loves Dogs, Will Graham Loves Hannibal Lecter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:35:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26842990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weinenforst/pseuds/weinenforst
Summary: ''I do not believe it. There are no predators or monsters in these forests. More than once I went there with the dogs. I would have noticed something'' He shrugged, making his own statements. At times he felt as if his friends were setting him up. That it was a stupid joke they'd been dragging on for weeks and only going on for fun. He didn't believe a word of them. Any of the pieces of evidence could be debunked without the slightest effort. Anyway, what evidence would they have for the existence of a bloodthirsty monster living in the forest right next to his house?
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham/Wendigo
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41





	Something to believe in

**Author's Note:**

> inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_ZRWZv14SA

‘’I do not believe it.’’

Will Graham crossed his arms over his chest. Leaning on the silvery sterile table top, he looked over his companions. They all looked back at it, frowning and a little embarrassed. They had no idea why the man was so skeptical about the presented case. They pushed all the evidence to his nose, told the stories, the theories of the locals, and he kept shaking his head. He brushed off every trace, not wanting to hear about it for a moment longer. Nonsense, nonsense and nonsense again.

‘’There are no predators in these forests. More than once I went there with the dogs. I would have noticed something’’ He shrugged, making his own statements. At times he felt as if his friends were setting him up. That it was a stupid joke they'd been dragging on for weeks and only going on for fun. He didn't believe a word of them. Any of the pieces of evidence could be debunked without the slightest effort.

‘’Maybe the dogs scared this monster and that's why you didn't see it?’’ Brian suggested, eating a chocolate bar during his break. He rarely brought lunch to work, but he knew perfectly well in which desk drawer Price kept his sweets. Pralines, chewing gum and his favorite chocolate bars with nuts inside.

‘’It's not a monster!’’ Graham grunted. He gave him a cold look. He still didn't understand how this group of educated, quick-witted people believed the stories about the ghosts living in the middle of the forest.

‘’Then what is it?’’ Beverly asked. She tilted her head to the side, waiting for an answer. She stubbornly trudged on what she believed. There was no other way to explain the abandoned remains, shattered bones, and strange marks on trees. At the place where the last victim of the 'monster' was found, all the branches were broken, the bark was scratched with a sharp tool. It was at least unusual. All three of them believed that it was not man-made. Nobody could have knocked branches more than two meters high, and there was no evidence of any weapon being used.

‘’I do not know. Maybe some freak.’’

‘’Freak? Will, do you think some freak would hold a man for two months and then tear his body apart and break his bones?’’ Jimmy raised his eyebrows. He barely believed what they got yesterday. At first he thought it was a victim of an accident, but the remains of his body were fresh. There were no traces of a knife, firearm or even a power saw. There were no bruises on the skin, no internal cavities ...except for a lack of heart and liver, which were removed with surgical precision. And how would the four of them come to a logical explanation of the matter? Will was just making it difficult for them to try to exclude the existence of any monster.

The curly-haired man looked at the gray floor for a long moment. A storm of thoughts invaded his mind. Everything was lost in Will's head, and as much as he wanted to, he was unable to explain all these events. He was amazed and thought as much as they did. He thought of the terrifying pain and the monstrous force their victim had to face. His empathic skills had failed. He couldn't put himself into the role of the killer. He lacked focus, basic information. Lost in all this, he squeezed his eyes tight.

"Leave him alone…" Brian said. He looked at the man with pity. Having worked with him for so long, he had learned when to let go and leave him. Will may have been weird, but no one has questioned his uniqueness or usefulness. Thanks to him, they solved cases and had grounds for further action. Everyone respected the man and accepted his tiny deviations from the norms, however, now, no one expected him to reject the theory of a monster lurking behind branches in an unexplored forest.

There was silence in the dissecting room. Everyone sat pensively, head lowered, until Crawford appeared on the threshold.

‘’Someone died?'' He asked unceremoniously looking at their faces.

‘’No no. I mean, maybe the one they brought back yesterday ”Brian said. After a brief moment he shrugged, and silence reigned in the room again. Jack looked around in surprise, then just raised his eyebrows and left their group alone again.

"I'm afraid we'll get a new corpse soon" Beverly sighed. She was fed up with looking at a dismembered man, much less the mere thought of being called back to the crime scene. A place of total slaughter. She was still trying to get the terrible sight out of her mind.

"If we do, I'll prove to you that your monster is just a bitter fuck" Graham grunted unexpectedly. Avoiding their gaze, he unceremoniously left the morgue. He didn't want to continue this conversation any longer. He felt that nothing could change his mind. Convinced that there was no monster, he decided that he would no longer worry about it unnecessarily. He adjusted the glasses on his nose with his middle finger and decided to go back to work.

For the weeks that followed, Will did not think about the existence of a possible monster. He gave lectures every day, checked the work of his students. Jack hadn't spoken to him, which meant there had been a shortage of fresh business lately. Nobody murdered, the neighborhood was peaceful. He spent evenings with the dogs. He lay with them in front of the TV, sometimes jumping aimlessly on the channels. He was bored with everything, from culinary shows, through reality shows, to criminal films that had nothing to do with reality. He lacked ambitious activities, much less company. His introversion did not allow him to make contacts, even if nature told him to meet. Anyone for anything. He limited his contacts to the work and university environment. He avoided parties and large groups of people. It was easier for him alone, and besides, he was not entirely alone. He had his beloved group of dogs for which, if only he could, he would have given his life.

The man was not happy about the coming weekend. Free time terrified him, because William felt much better when someone was planning the day for him. During the week he always had something to do, he was never bored. Unfortunately, this terrible state hit him every Saturday. He was already sighing to welcome the new day. He twisted a couple of times in the sheets, making his curly hair fluttering even more. They stuck out in all directions, and though he wanted to, he couldn't control them in the morning.

He barely had time to stretch when Winston jumped into his bed. Turning on the covers, he settled comfortably against his master's belly. He nudged him, and Will knew exactly what that meant. He reached out to caress it just behind the ear as he liked. He celebrated every morning with his dogs. Will did not hide that Winston was his favorite. He paid him the most attention, and the dog repaid him. He would not leave him even one step, and when a tired Graham came home from work, he was the most pleased. He jumped, wagged his tail.

Adjusting himself on the covers, Will glanced at the watch on the nightstand. It was only eight o'clock and he was already confused. The vision of free time was killing him. He had no idea what to do with the day off. Will scratched his unshaven stubble and slowly lifted himself off the bed. Winston patted right behind him into the bathroom. He witnessed the man's morning toilet. He watched his owner with attention and interest, who reluctantly shaved, combed his hair and washed his face.

Without bothering about his disguise, he went downstairs in his pajamas. His every morning was the same. He put water on coffee, fed a group of dogs, took medications. Though he usually skipped breakfast, this time he made two peanut butter toasts. He ate them on the couch with the dogs.

Several minutes later, Graham was already putting on heavy boots with the intention of going outside. The wind was blowing outside, but it didn't bother him. He was going to take the dogs for a longer walk anyway. He adjusted his wool cap, from under which untamed brown curls protruded.

All the shaggy quadrupeds ran straight out onto the porch. They jumped with glee as Will tried to close the door behind them.

‘’Yes, yes. We're going for a walk’’ he murmured to them, smiling. He never took a leash, after all, they went out for walks more than once, and they always obeyed. They were not going to run away from him.

Squeezing his hands into the pockets of his trousers, the brown-haired man took his steps towards the forest, but did not enter it. All the trees were old, rotten. He did not want to risk falling branches or getting lost. He didn't know the forest, and besides, he didn't want to wade through the dense forest full of branches sticking out on all sides.

‘’Winston!’’ He called the dog, and the dog was right next to his leg. The rest were running around the meadow at their best. They picked on, fooled around, causing a smile on the face of their owner. William loved to watch them. They were always full of joy. They lived with him so long that they learned to recognize a man's emotions, especially Winston, who sensed each time when something was wrong.

He walked with the crowd of pets a bit more and looked towards the forest. The wind stopped for a moment. Will finally breathed in the cool, heavy air. He pulled it into his lungs as much as possible and opened his eyes. He turned to look at the forest. Although he was tempted to go in there and explore all the nooks and crannies of the forest, he refrained. He had to keep an eye on the dogs.

He watched with the greatest curiosity the individual tree crowns that had stopped dancing in the wind. Each of them was different, but they had a greyish color and branches twisted in all directions. Squinting his eyes, the man searched for any path leading deep into the forest. He did not hide the fact that an unknown force was pushing him to cross this border. To go a step further and find between trees. He would like to feel the strength of this place, which he always avoided, even though it was right next to it.

Bark, bark.

Graham flinched, distracted from his thoughts. Winston's bark echoed around them. He glanced at the pet with furrowed brows. What caught his attention? Trying to understand the dog's motivation, he looked towards the place he was barking at. Despite the lack of wind, Will could see the branch moving. Black, more powerful than all the others. She swirled on the edge of the forest, prompting the rest of the dogs to sound warning voices with a rustle.

The brown-haired man took a few uncertain steps forward. Without taking his eyes off the unnaturally large branch, he did not think at all about the rightness of his actions. He lived next door. He was never in any danger here, so he didn't worry about anything. As he approached the edge of the forest, he noticed a shadow much larger than himself between the doorways. Two bright spots that Will had previously judged to be gaps between the leaves blinked at him. There was a snap of a branch, and it was only then that it dawned on him that it was not a branch at all.

With a strange mix of confusion and irrational dread, he rubbed his eyes. When he slipped his glasses over his nose again, the branch or shadow was gone. He vanished, leaving the familiar odor behind him, which only strengthened the fear in his chest.

Though all instincts tried to stop William from taking a step, he walked among the trees against himself. He was guided by a scent that completely dazed him, led him through the thicket. In this state of elation, he ignored the whining dogs in front of the forest. They swirled in circles, making squeaks of various sounds. Neither of them kept pace with Graham.

After a few more treads, the man finally discovered the source of the unpleasant, aggressively penetrating odor. His heart pounded furiously as he stood over his body in a high state of decay. The dead tissue fell between the grayish moss. Broken ribs, split skull with no jaw, gouged out eyes. Will never did so much. Accustomed to crime scenes, more worried seemed to be the fact that someone was here. Or maybe something? The corpse could not appear alone here, especially in such a desperate state.

He swallowed hard. The dogs continued to whine as they expressed their concern. He sent a trembling hand to the phone hidden in his pants pocket. He dialed the number almost immediately.

‘’Jack?’’ He whispered after the call. ‘’Jack, come to Wolf Trap. Found a dead body.’’

The trees turned into a collection of vague spots. The wind picked up again and, combined with the man's sudden dizziness, turned him over on the remains of a withered bush. The rustle of trees grew louder. The stench of the corpse lying next to it did not stop. In this position, Will felt that he was getting more intense. He couldn't hear the choppy tone from the phone he still clutched in his hand. He didn't have the strength to prop himself up on his shoulders and lift himself up. He merged with the moss into one.

Graham's eyelids grew heavier. When his eyes grew dark, he first thought of the sun hiding behind the clouds, but where did the sun come from at this time of the year, when the sky was cloudy a moment ago? And why did the eyes of that darkness suddenly blink above him?


End file.
